While Major League Baseball Players Association player representatives overwhelmingly agreed that Alex Rodriguez should be kicked out of the union during a 90-minute conference call the day he sued the MLBPA, union leaders said they could not legally pursue his expulsion, three sources on the call told Yahoo Sports.
"That's what everyone was thinking," the player said. "We wanted to get on this call and not let him back. [To say,] ‘This is our game and we don't want you in it.'"
Rodriguez has filed suit against the MLBPA and MLB in an attempt to overturn his 162-game suspension for his violation of the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. The action against MLB was expected. Hedging against the same, the union hired outside counsel to sit in on Rodriguez's hearings and ensure the union fulfilled its responsibility to him.
The union represents the players in collective bargaining and matters of grievances and salary arbitration, and player representatives elected by each team, along with an executive board made up of players, help develop MLBPA policies. Union attorneys – along with lawyers hired by Rodriguez – represented Rodriguez in his recent appeal of a 211-game suspension. Though an independent arbitrator cut the suspension to 162 games, the decision was a clear loss for Rodriguez. Two days later, a suit filed in federal court charged the union with breach of duty, claiming it had "completely abdicated its responsibility to Mr. Rodriguez," and also accused former MLBPA chief Michael Weiner of failing to properly represent Rodriguez. Weiner died of brain cancer in November.